Haha ok I know these are not the most impressive bunch. But I guess my interest in this often forgettable sextet got rebooted after ToyWorld started making homages to them.

The gimmick of the Throttlebots is that they have the pullback motors that were very popular of toys back in the 80s. In G1, Jump Starters and Battle Chargers had this same gimmick as well. But those sub-groups also transform automatically as part of the release sequence (from alt mode to robot). Throttlebots differ in that they must be transformed manually, but the pullback mechanism can be initiated in either car or robot mode. As Transformers, they pretty much sucked. Though technically not repaints, all six figures in the group transform exactly the same. Like Bumblebee and Cliffjumper from Season 1. Transformation is super simple, even for G1 standards. All you do is raise the figure, flip out the arms, flip back the rear to reveal the head, and push in the motor. They have absolutely no articulation at all, a total fail even for G1.

The first of these that I got was Goldbug, at a Thrifty. I got him because he reminded me of Bumblebee (before I found out he is in fact Bumblebee). Not sure why I decided to get Rollbar and Freeway later. Guess I was bored and had some extra spending money. But yeah, these 3 I had since G1, and I know for a fact they’re the real deal.

Now that ToyWorld is making their homages, I decided to get the rest now in 2013. One seller had Chase and Searchlight, which I bought for $8 shipped on eBay (he took my best offer). Then I won another auction for Wideload at $5 shipped. These 3 are all used, but all in pretty good shape. As far as I can tell, these are all authentic genuine Hasbro products. Being able to complete the set at these prices was well worth it for a G1er such as myself.

I am looking forward to ToyWorld’s homages to this group. I thought it was kind of funny and weird for ToyWorld to update this particular team. But after I saw reviews of Grind Rod (Rollbar) and Aurora (Searchlight), I am quite impressed. They will supposedly combine into a Gestalt as well. Like I mentioned in my last post, I pre-ordered Trace (Chase), who is the 3rd fig in the group. I may need to order the first 2 figs before they’re gone.

yeah seeing all 6 together makes them a tad cooler, lol. Strength in numbers I always say. I like your review of Freeway. He’s my fave out of the 6, simply because I think he’s got the best alt mode in the group. Wonder what ToyWorld will call him… Highway? Turnpike?